Apple: We Had No Role in Alleged NSA iPhone Hack

A woman looks at an Apple iPhone at one of the company's stores in Paris, on December 20, 2013. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK KOVARIK (Photo credit should read PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images)

Photo credit: PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images

LONDON — Apple Inc. says it played no role in the National Security Agency’s alleged efforts to hack the iPhone, explaining that it was unaware of a recently revealed program apparently aimed at turning the best-selling smartphone into an improvised listening device.

The Cupertino, California-based, company said Tuesday it had never worked with the NSA to deliberately weaken its products, promising that it would “defend our customers from security attacks, regardless of who’s behind them.”